Back to bazaar for IPL teams: 108 players for sale but action at the sixth auction may be slow

On the eve of what is expected to be the most lowprofile players' auction in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the uncertainty over Rajasthan Royals' home matches dominated discussions as much as to who would grab the present and former Aussie captains, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting , the biggest names in the fray, on Sunday.

Hectic parleys were on in Delhi and in Jaipur on Saturday on how to get hold of the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, the controversial home venue of Rajasthan Royals, for the 2013 IPL that will be played in April-May.

The Rajasthan Sports Council, which owns the multi-sport venue, and the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) have been at loggerheads for many years over the lease of the ground.

And here in Chennai, the IPL governing council was scheduled to discuss this and other sponsorship issues at the ITC Grand Chola hotel, the venue of the auction, on Saturday evening.

Since the players that will be bought on Sunday will be able to play only for one year, coupled with the fact the most of the teams are settled, the nine franchises would spend their money pragmatically. Most franchises, like Royal Challengers Bangalore, would like to buy a few back-up players. "IPL is a long tournament and it's good to have some good backup. It all depends on the fitness of players. Fast bowler Zaheer Khan is still recovering from injury," Challengers' CEO Brijesh Patel, a former Test player, told Mail Today.

Apart from Clarke and Ponting, who have $400,000 (Rs 2.12 crore) as their base price, South African all-rounder Johan Botha ($300,000 or Rs 1.59 cr) is the other player with a big starting price in a list of 108 that contains no Pakistani.

There are some well-known Indians, too, who would hope to be picked a year before all the franchises build their teams afresh as all the players would be up for sale at the biggest ever auction in 2014.The auction is scheduled to begin at 11am and auctioneer Richard Madley from England on Saturday checked the hall, the franchise tables and other paraphernalia at the Rajendra Hall where the event will take place.

Madley, who would wield the hammer for the sixth time in as many auctions, as well as Rajeev Shukla, chairman of the IPL governing council, agreed that it would be a "low key" auction.

"It's not a big auction, but it would nonetheless be crucial one. It would showcase the Indian talent, and franchises would be looking to strengthen their teams. And for Sunrisers Hyderabad, this would be the first experience," Shukla told Mail Today..

Sun TV bought the Hyderabad franchise after the BCCI terminated the Deccan Chargers franchise for breach of contract. Rajasthan Royals were confronted with two issues on Saturday: the strategy to go with at the auction, and the worry over their home venue, Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. There is uncertainty over the venue as the RCA and the state sports council continue to fight.

The IPL scheduled has already been changed once and it could well be altered again.

"I have talked to the Rajasthan CM as well as RCA president CP Joshi. Besides, Ratnakar Sheety (BCCI general manager, game development) is also talking to them. If we can find a solution nothing like it," he said. "Otherwise, we will shift their home matches to Gujarat."